


I made a mistake

by Written_prose_things



Series: hundred prompts for thousands of pairings [7]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Consequences, Gen, Guilty Tony, supportive Rhodey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25123204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Written_prose_things/pseuds/Written_prose_things
Summary: Prompt 48: Tony has to fix his relationship with Peter. (continued from part 1.)
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: hundred prompts for thousands of pairings [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816942
Comments: 10
Kudos: 43





	I made a mistake

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to add and mix the prompt by [@sanahfy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanahfy/pseuds/Sanahfy) into my list.

> “Rahiman dhaga prem ka, mat todo chatkay,  
>  toote phir na jude, jude gainth ban jaaye”  
>  -Rahim Das

  
It should be easier now, Toy feels. He has apologised and is trying to include Peter in his activities more.

But it isn’t easy at all. Each time Tony calls Peter over to the tower or cabin, the teen spends more time with Pepper, Morgan, the bots and just about everyone else who happens to be in the tower.  
That is, except for Tony.

At first, Tony feels as though Peter’s intentionally ignoring him.  
But he soon realizes that the kid has only filled up the vacuum that Tony had consciously left in his life.

Even if the teen hasn’t realized it, he has moved on. He doesn’t hang on to Tony’s every word like before, doesn’t follow the old inventor around like a lost puppy and none of it is out of spite.

Tony doesn’t understand why he feels so sad. Peter has done exactly what Tony wanted him to do.  
_Well,_ Tony knows why he’s sad, but he doesn’t have a great track record of dealing with his feelings, so according to the status quo, all the extra feelings get shoved into pretty boxes at the back of Tony’s mind.

It all comes to a head when Peter comes over to stay for the weekend. The entire weekend is a guilt-trip for Tony from the moment that it begins.

Tony leads Peter towards his room. When the teen enters it, he gasps, “You kept it the same?”

Poster with science puns hang on the walls and the curtains are an old R2-D2 set.  
  


Tony almost cries, “Of course kiddo, it is your room.”  
A dark thought enters Tony’s mind. But it isn’t Peter’s room, hasn’t been for a long time. Peter’s barely been over long enough to even hang out in this room.

Peter nods. An uncomfortable silence squeezes the room, leaving no space to breathe freely.

Tony clears his throat. Pepper teases him about it, _Tony you’re making dad noises again_.

“Right, so I’ll leave you to settle in.” With that, Tony books it out of the teenager’s room.

When he’s far enough, he bangs his head on a wall and groans.

 _Let you settle in?  
_The kid only has a bog full of clothes and homework. He doesn’t need to settle in.

Tony gathers his left-over dignity and walks back to Peter’s room. He can hear Morgan and Peter giggling inside. He smiles and knocks on the door.

“Hey kiddo, want to meet me in the kitchen in 5? I’m planning on baking cookies.”

Before Peter can reply, Morgan yells from under the blankets, “No! Peter’s playing spaceships with me!”

Peter only shrugs at Tony, as if to say _what can we do?_

Tony suppresses the urge to groan. The entire weekend is spent in the same fashion. Members and associates of the Stark household monopolise Peter’s time. So, on Sunday evening when Peter finally goes to sleep, he and Tony have barely spent any time together.

\---

Tony gets woken up in the middle of the night be F.R.I.D.A.Y’s alert.

“Wh-What’s wrong?” Tony rasps out.

F.R.I.D.A.Y informs him, “It appears that Peter is experiencing a nightmare.”

Before Tony can even climb out of bed, Pepper is pattering down the hallway towards Peter’s room.

Tony follows quickly. The sight he sees when he reaches there is serene. Peter is already half asleep bundled in Pepper’s arms, his comforter surrounding them.

Tony leans against the door jamb and tries to drink in the beautiful sight in front of him. The city lights that streams in from the window behind the pair, look like halos.

But negative emotions lap at the edges of Tony’s brain. They don’t see that it’s his wife holding his kid. Rather the emotions make Tony see a reality where his kid doesn’t need him for support anymore.

Tony pushes himself off the door jamb and walks into the kitchen to get a glass of water for himself. His emotions have finally spilt out of their compartments.

He sighs and calls Rhodey.

“Hey, Tones.” Rhodey’s voice crackles over the line, “What’s wrong?”

At first Tony feels like disputing the fact that something’s wrong. But he doesn’t have the energy for it.

“It’s Peter. He’s -” Tony’s voice breaks, he sighs and repeats himself, “I don’t think he needs me anymore.”

“Come on, Tones. You know that’s not true.”

Tony shakes his head, “I’m not joking platypus, he doesn’t give me the time of day anymore.”

Rhodey huffs, “You mean, he doesn’t prioritise you over everyone else anymore.”

Tony harrumphs, but doesn’t disagree.

Rhodey sighs, “Tony, who’s fault is that?”

It feels like a void has opened up inside Tony. He whispers, “Mine.”

Rhodey’s voice is comforting but his words are straight to the point, “Tones, he’s taken cues from you. When you stopped paying him attention, he learnt the same. He might not have realized it, but he’s protecting himself from being let down again.”

Tony squeezes his eyes shut like all this is just a nightmare that’s going to go away. He asks quietly, “I made a mistake.”

Rhodey sighs, “yeah, and now you have to fix it.”

Tony asks, “But how?”

Rhodey replies, “You’ve apologised. He’s accepted the apology. The only thing you can do now is, _do better_. Words aren’t going to solve anything. You have to prove to him that you’re worth the promises you make.”

Tony hums, “Alright, thanks. I owe you, platypus.”

Rhodey laughs quietly from the other side, “Yeah you do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 49: I may be an idiot, but I'm your idiot.  
> {?}  
> [?]


End file.
